Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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A Baton Rouge, Louisiana senior citizen was killed in a September 3, 2009 car accident on Jefferson Highway near its intersection with Airline Highway when she turned left into the path of an oncoming vehicle. It was initially presumed that the senior citizen was completely at fault in causing the accident, but further investigation revealed that the oncoming motorist was exceeding the posted speed limit. Because speed, and not the improper left turn, was determined to be the main factor in the car crash because the senior citizen would have been able to complete her turn if the oncoming motorist had been driving the speed limit, the speeding motorist was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of reckless operation of a vehicle and one count of negligent homicide.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, of the Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C., “all too often the investigating police officer assumes that when a car accident occurs involving a left turning motorist, that the left turning motorist must be at fault and no further investigation is conducted.” Fortunately for the family of the senior citizen killed in the Jefferson Highway automobile accident, the police continued their investigation and uncovered the truth–that the auto accident was avoidable had the oncoming motorist been acting reasonably.
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A Rottweiler dog attacked and killed a 20 month old boy in Florida while the boy was reaching for a cookie he had dropped on the ground.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, says “animal attacks occur too often and are usually by dogs trained to be vicious by their owners or by dogs that are not properly supervised by their owners.” In Louisiana, damages caused by animals are governed by Louisiana Civil Code article 2321, which provides that the owner of a dog is “strictly liable for damages for injuries to person or property caused by the dog and which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person’s provocation.” The owners of all other animals in Louisiana are “answerable for the damage caused by the animal” upon a showing that the owner knew or should have known that his animal’s behavior would cause damage, and that by the exercise of reasonable care, the damage could have been prevented.
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A twenty-one year old Franklinton man was killed December 2, 2009, on Louisiana Highway 1082 in Covington, Louisiana. The motorcycle rider reportedly was passing several cars when he encountered a 2005 Crown Victoria that was turning left onto Pat O’Brien Road. The Suzuki motorcycle and car collided and the motorcycle rider was thrown from his bike and died at the accident scene.

According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, 59 motorcycle crashes claimed 4 lives in St. Tammany Parish in 2008. For motorcycle riders, “the best offense is a good defense. Never pass at or near and intersection and always assume the other driver does not see you and your bike,” says Scott Andrews of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C.. Attorney Scott Andrews rode a motorcycle in college and had more than his share of close calls with inattentive motorists and substandard highways. Scott Andrews reminds motorcycle riders to “always keep a look-out and drive safely.”
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Two adults and thirteen children were riding in a mini-van on Interstate 10 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, around mid-night on November 28, 2009, when a tire blew out, causing the mini-van to strike a box truck in the adjacent lane. The mini-van rolled over several times, ejecting the thirteen unrestrained children. The driver and five of the children are confirmed dead.

This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts and prayers go out to the families of all involved. If the Ford/Firestone rollover/blow-out litigation taught us anything, it is that tire blow-outs and vehicle roll-overs are a dangerous, and often fatal, combination. A properly designed and manufactured tire should not blow-out unless the tire suffers impact damage or has been improperly installed, inflated or maintained. And, a vehicle that sustains a tire blow-out should not rollover under expected and reasonable evasive maneuvers. Any time a tire-blow occurs and a death or serious injury occurs, the tire and vehicle should be preserved so that failure analysis can be conducted. Without the tire and vehicle, it is virtually impossible to determine the cause of the blow-out and rollover, and any legal rights the victims might have against the tire and vehicle manufacturer may be lost.
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Three young adults from Farmerville, Louisiana, were killed on Friday, November 27, 2009, when the driver of their car ran a stop sign at Louisiana Highway 33 in Union Parish and drove directly into the path of a Freightliner Log Truck.

So far this year, 36 fatal car crashes in northeastern Louisiana have caused 42 deaths.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of millions of Stork Craft drop-side cribs on November 23, 2009, following reports of one hundred ten drop-side detachments and four infant deaths. The CPSC determined that a gap can be created between the mattress and the drop-side rail when a piece of the claw on the lower right side of the drop-side rail breaks, allowing the claw to disengage from the lower right side t-rail of the crib.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that at least one Louisiana baby’s death has been caused by mechanical asphyxia that occurred when he was trapped in a gap between the drop-side rail and the crib’s mattress. The Louisiana baby’s parents filed suit against the crib manufacturer in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The CPSC reminds parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts, and to not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.
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The 200 foot boom of a crane collapsed onto a fabrication shop at Elevated Boats, Inc. in Houma, Louisiana, killing one man and injuring another on November 17, 2009. The collapse occurred when the steel base of the crane ripped and detached while the crane operator was moving a 30 ton weight from the flat bed of an 18 wheeler. The accident remains under investigation by OSHA.

A crane collapse is usually caused by operator error, defective design of the crane or a component part, or improper maintenance. When injured or killed on-the-job by a crane collapse in Louisiana, worker’s compensation is often the exclusive remedy for the injured or killed worker. However, if the crane or a component part is defective, or if the crane was improperly maintained or negligently operated by a contractor or other third-person who is not considered an employer or co-employee, a claim may be made outside of the worker’s compensation scheme. And, when an on-the-job crane collapse in Louisiana is covered by the Jones Act or General Maritime Law, a claim for injury or death can sometimes even be made against an employer or co-employee.
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A motorcyclist trying to enter Interstate 20 in Shreveport, Louisiana, was killed on November 14, 2009, when his motorcycle struck a barrier on the overpass and then plunged about thirty feet onto Interstate 20 below.

Often times, overpass curves, guardrails, or barriers are defectively designed or maintained and can contribute to vehicle accidents. Motorcyles and automobiles being operated under normal or expected conditions should not vault over a guardrail or other overpass barrier.
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One person killed and five injured on November 7, 2009 in a Natchitoches, Louisiana car wreck on Louisiana Highway 117. The driver of a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria lost control of his vehicle and left the roadway to the right, then overcorrected and traveled across the center line and crashed into a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. One passenger in the Ford Crown Victoria was not wearing his seat belt and was killed. Five others were injured. The driver of the Ford Crown Victoria was charged with four counts of vehicular negligent injury, DWI 4th offense, reckless operation, vehicular homicide, open container, and operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36 people in the United States die every day in motor vehicle accidents involving an alcohol-impaired driver, and approximately 700 more people are injured. 32% of all traffic fatalities (13,470 people) in 2006 involved drunk drivers. Children were especially effected with nearly one-half of all auto accident deaths of children 14 or younger caused by drivers over the legal limit. Never drink and drive!
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